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Your social media posts are no longer just for your family and friends. Instead, many platforms are now harvesting your user data to train AI models. This is already happening with your LinkedIn posts, and your public Facebook and Instagram posts. (Though Meta did recently axe a planned feature to generate images using public Instagram photos.) This same AI training has also been taking place on X (Twitter, as most of us still call it) since 2024.
For years, Grok has been training on your public tweets by default. It’s an unnerving reality when you consider how the AI has produced racist and antisemitic rhetoric and generated sexualized images of underage girls. Who wants to contribute to that? Not me.
If you don’t want to provide data to the AI chatbot, you can opt out. Here’s exactly what you need to do.
What Data Is Grok Using?
According to this help page, X shares your public data with xAI (now SpaceXAI), a Musk startup that acquired X in 2025 and was itself acquired by SpaceX in February. It’s responsible for training and developing generative AI models, including Grok. That public data includes public posts, engagements, reposts, conversations on Spaces, profile information (such as your bio and display name), and any interactions you may have with Grok itself. This is all used to improve Grok’s ability to understand requests, provide more accurate responses, and personalize its interactions with you.
The good news is that X offers several ways to control when your public data and interactions with Grok are used to train the company’s AI systems. You can opt out of model training and Grok personalization, delete your conversation history with Grok, or make your account private.
Opt Out of AI Training
To ensure my data wasn’t being used to train Grok, I opened Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Grok & Third-party Collaborators and found three things enabled by default:
- Allow your public data, as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok and xAI, to be used for training and fine-tuning.
- Allow X to personalize your experience with Grok.
- Allow Grok to remember your conversation history.
I unchecked all three. If you previously used Grok and now want nothing to do with it, click Delete conversation history and choose Delete again.
(Credit: PCMag/X)Make Your Account Private
The other way to protect your tweets from Grok is to make your account private, since X doesn’t use data from private accounts for its AI training. Go to Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Audience, media and tagging, and enable Protect your posts, so only people who follow you can see your tweets. (Look for a lock icon next to your username to know it’s protected.) Click the box next to Protect your videos, and any videos in your posts will not be downloadable by default.
(Credit: PCMag/X)Block Image Editing
Though X has blocked Grok from creating sexualized images of people without permission and limited public image editing via the Grok X account to paid subscribers, edit buttons are still on every photo posted to X, allowing you to alter them privately. Recently, X rolled out an update that allows you to block those private edits, but the option is fairly well hidden and must be implemented on a case-by-case basis.
To block Grok from being able to edit your photos, you need to customize permissions before you post the image to X. You can’t do it after the fact. I was also only able to do this on the web; the option is available on iOS, but not Android yet. I added an image to a post, then clicked the photo to open editing options. From there, I selected the Flag icon, then enabled Block modifications by Grok.
(Credit: PCMag / X)Delete Your Account
Of course, the most effective thing you can do to stop Grok and X from burning down the world is to leave the platform entirely. That could mean deleting your existing posts or closing your account. For more detailed instructions on this, see our dedicated guide.
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My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.
My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech vertical mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.
Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.
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As PCMag’s editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.
I believe tech corporations are bad, but you might as well know how to use technology in everyday life. Want more how to content delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the tips and tricks newsletter that I curate three times a week.
My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.
My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech vertical mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.
Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.
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